


For The Ride Home

by materialism



Category: Paramore
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-27
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-03-26 01:44:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3832432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/materialism/pseuds/materialism
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taylor shakes her head and smiles, joining her anyway.  “Man, you are so drunk.”</p><p>“I’m not drunk, you’re drunk,” Hayley sing songs, punctuated with a hiccupy giggle. </p><p>(In which Taylor is a girl and Hayley doesn't mind.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	For The Ride Home

**Author's Note:**

> probably the most important part of this universe is that taylor is a cisgender girl (aka 'always-a-girl!' in the olden days of fandom, god i'm old, why). this is an alternate scene in a larger universe. set in early fall of 2007. 
> 
> standard disclaimer: i own nothing except my words and the plot. any and all situations depicted are entirely fictional. all individuals are fictional interpretations of those involved. if you are someone involved in this story, i recommend you go no further. keep online shopping, like i will continue to do after i post this. taylor... you would make a pretty girl.

“Hey, short stack.” 

The voice isn’t familiar at first and Hayley jumps back about three feet. She’s been dancing to the background music the DJ left on. The sound is nice, not loud and obnoxious like some of the other music has been. There are still quite a few people down here, but it isn’t a can of sardines like it was before. Hayley’s still kind of wet from everyone’s sweat and she probably smells. She’s hungry and now, of course, scared.

"What the hell?" she shouts, windmilling her arms and catching Taylor on the shoulder.

That's the thing that sucks about Taylor, right - she can come up to you, scare the pants off you, and still come out looking like she only had one beer, two tops. Her hair is wild from the humidity of the basement, some corkscrews come unraveled, and there's a thin sheen of sweat on her face. How is she wearing all black right now? At least she wears clothes that don't engulf her now. Plus she seems to have lost the Hawaiian shirt she came here with. Thank God. 

“Jesus, warn a girl, why don’t you?” Hayley says.

Taylor giggles. Hayley is always surprised by how girly it is, considering people frequently mistake her for a boy despite the shoulder-length hair. “Jeremy’s been looking for you. He’s gonna give us a ride home when he’s more sober.”

She had forgotten that she needs to go home at some point, but she’s suddenly relieved. “Jeremy’s the best. I love Jeremy. You should hang out with me while he sobers up. Here’s a patch of wall, I saved it for you.” She pats the wall to make her point.

Taylor shakes her head and smiles, joining her anyway. “Man, you are so drunk.”

“I’m not drunk, you’re drunk,” Hayley sing songs, punctuated with a hiccupy giggle. The world’s a little shaky, but it’s a good shake. Shake, shake, shake it. Like that annoying song on the radio. She leans her front on the wall and puts her mouth on it. It’s probably not a good idea because this basement is gross, but whatever. She can say she’s done that so she doesn’t have to do it again.

“How much have you had, anyway? Two sips of one?”

“I’ve had two, thank you,” she says, voice still muffled by the wall. It doesn’t taste like much, just damp.

Taylor tugs her around one handed so her back is to the wall again. It’s amazing that she can do that with one hand. Taylor has nice hands. They're really soft considering she plays every instrument known to mankind. 

“This basement probably hasn’t been cleaned since the house was built. Do you really want that in your mouth, Hayley?” Taylor rolls her eyes but it’s fond. They’ve toured together enough now for Hayley to know when she’s actually pissed; usually her genuine irritation is reserved for Zac.

“I see your point.” Hayley’s beer is warm, but she drinks it anyway. “Did Josh go home with his girlfriend?” 

Taylor takes a sip of her drink and grimaces. “I think so? They were making out whenever I passed by them so they probably went home to go at it.”

“Ew,” Hayley says, sticking out her tongue. 

“Didn’t you guys do that?” Taylor says loudly, then freaks out a little. “I mean, I don’t wanna assume -”

“Oh my gosh no, it’s like totally okay. We did but it was different. Well, like it wasn’t, but it was. Maybe just like, it’s because he’s doing that stuff with someone else? I mean I don’t like him like that anymore but it’s like weird because I lost my virginity to him and he’s the only guy I’ve ever... had sex with. And I don’t like him like that anymore, and he’s still my friend, but he found someone and I didn’t and. It’s just... yeah.” 

Hayley kind of wants to cry but she’s not going to be like those girls she sees that cry when they’ve had too much. “I’m sorry, I’m being dumb, let’s not talk about this anymore. Can I have some of your drink?” 

Taylor gives her a meaningful look that Hayley hates a little. She passes her the cup and takes the beer out of her hand. “You’re not gonna like it. I don’t like it and I love vodka.”

Hayley takes a sip and almost spits it back out. How is Taylor drinking this? This is probably what you have to drink in Hell every day. Hayley says as much and Taylor laughs way harder than she should be laughing. The joke wasn’t that funny.

“I’m gonna finish your beer now,” Taylor says, already doing it. "Ah, refreshing. 

"You're a jerk and no one likes you," Hayley says as she finishes what’s left of the Solo cup, gagging when it’s all done. 

Taylor's laughter is bright and high, ringing in Hayley's ears. The buzz is starting to wear off real quick and she does not want that right now. It’s hard to find someone who lives at this house among the plaid shirts, but she manages to find the one resident with unfortunate hair and grabs his arm. His face lights up when she talks to him. 

“Oh hey, you’re in that band! The keg is kicked but we have some cans, if you’re okay with paying,” he says. “I love that one song, uh,” he breaks into an endearing falsetto, “that’s what you get when you let your heart win.” It’s sweet. She’s glad he’s not asking for a photo though.

“Thanks, man, means a lot,” she says, and fishes a five out of her jeans pocket. “Does that cover it?”

“You and your friend have free reign. The beer fridge is over there,” he says. She’s not a fan of the way he says the word ‘friend.’ 

Hayley skips over to the fridge (well, as best she can, the floor is damp now too) with Taylor in tow. She opens it and grabs a can of Keystone for herself and one for Taylor.

“I don’t think you should be drinking more,” Taylor says.

“C’mon, mannnn,” Hayley says, sticking out her tongue. “One’s not gonna kill you. Everyone else is doing it. You’ll look cool and happening.” She wiggles her fingers.

“I’m the poster child for succumbing to peer pressure.” Taylor cracks it open and takes a sip.

“You failed the DARE program!” Hayley says, chugging half her beer. She immediately burps really loud, which causes a few people to look up and laugh. 

“I’d rate that a 7!” says a guy in the corner. 

“It’s a 6,” Taylor says, and everyone laughs and resumes what they were doing. Thank goodness.

They go to the corner of the basement away from the crowd. Hayley tries to hoist herself on the dryer, but fails to do so, settling for leaning against it. Taylor watches the whole attempt with a sleepy half smile that makes Hayley’s stomach flip a little. Yeah, her buzz is definitely coming back. Hayley forgets what she ate today. Toast and maybe a banana? Maybe? She probably should have eaten more, but she wasn’t hungry. Well, she’s hungry now, but she wants a whole pizza. Milkshake. Oh man, her stomach would hurt for days but it would be so worth it. She’s so lost in dreaming about food that she doesn’t realize Taylor’s been talking to her. 

“Earth to Hayley,” Taylor says, waving her hand in front of Hayley’s face. “You okay there, cadet?”

“Sorry, I zoned out. I’m hungry. And I’m drunk again.” She pouts. “How come you drank so much and you’re okay?” Taylor’s acting like she usually does - maybe a little more social but that’s it.

Taylor shakes her head. “Believe me, I’m drunk. It comes out in different ways for everyone though.”

Hayley wobbles a little, proving her point about being drunk. She reflexively grabs onto Taylor's arm to steady herself. It's soft. “No, but I mean, you’re so physically stable and you can talk. I mean, I’m talking now, but like, you can talk like an actual person.”

Taylor shrugs, eyes darting to where Hayley's hand still is. Hayley realizes herself and lets it fall. “Used to it, I guess. I’ve been drinking at family parties since I don’t know when. A little champagne at New Years, a little beer on the Fourth of July, that kind of stuff.” Taylor leans in and whispers. “Zac and I used to go into his parents liquor cabinet and drink his dad’s whiskey.”

“That’s so bad!” Hayley says, but secretly she thinks it’s badass. She’s not naive by any means - technically they’re both still underage - but she supposes she’s still something of a goody two shoes. At least that’s what Josh used to tell her. Stupid Josh.

“I mean, it’s the only adult thing I’ve done that I can think of,” Taylor says, on a roll. “I’ve never smoked cigarettes or weed, never done drugs, never had -” She suddenly stops and takes a huge sip of her beer, darting her eyes away from Hayley.

After a split second of connecting the dots, Hayley keeps her voice low, not wanting to ruin their connection by being her usual loudmouth self. Taylor’s being so much more open than she ever is. “You’ve never had sex.”

Taylor shakes her head, clearly embarrassed. 

Hayley understands now what she means by a different kind of drunk - the open kind and the raw emotion that accompanies that. She wishes Taylor didn't feel that way - hell, she herself was about to cry five minutes ago because of her stupid ex-boyfriend being normal and moving on. “Taylor, that’s okay. Sex is not life-changing, trust me.”

“It’s not just that. I’ve never even kissed anyone.” She takes a gulp of her beer, and Hayley can tell it's just to occupy her mouth. Her voice is watery. 

Hayley needs a double and triple mental repetition to process that. No, it can’t be true. She refuses to believe that Taylor has never even kissed anyone. Taylor’s a catch. She’s slender, with beautiful eyes and a button nose and pretty lips and a waterfall of dark ringlets. She’s a good height for anyone, too. A tall guy wouldn’t get overwhelmed, someone her height could be eye to eye, and a small person like Hayley could feel safe. 

The dams have opened though, and Taylor’s talking more than she ever does when she's sober. “I don’t even know what I’m holding out for. I’ve gotten offers, on the road and at parties and I just say no every time. It doesn’t need to be the love of my life with some sort of movie scene and every line is just right. But maybe I want it to be a little special. Someone I know and I care about. I just want it to be nice.” 

Their eyes lock in the hazy basement light, and Hayley bites her lip. She supposes she saw this coming. They’ve been leaning into each other’s space all night. The housemate thought they were a thing. Maybe Hayley’s been a little flirty on purpose, but maybe Taylor’s indulged it for a reason. Maybe they’ve both been too open, open in a way that they are afraid to be without beer goggles. What Hayley doesn’t see coming is her leaning in first and cupping Taylor’s cheek with one hand as their lips brush. It’s innocent, chaste, but Hayley still can’t breathe.

When they part, Taylor’s eyes are brimming with uncertainty. “Are you sure?”

Thoughts of anything but kissing Taylor have been erased from Hayley’s mind. 

“Yes,” she says, chasing Taylor’s lips until she catches them again. 

It’s apparent that Taylor has never done this before, what with the slipperiness and the occasional brush of teeth, but she’s a fast learner. Even if it’s a little messy, Taylor’s energy is so sweet and careful. Her hands are warm as they wander all over her body, steering clear of any intimate parts. Hayley’s arms are around her neck, feeling the warmth of her skin. She loses herself in sensation for a second and bites Taylor's lip, but Taylor does not seem to mind. Her tiny whimper shoots white hot between Hayley's legs, assuaging her momentary panic. Hayley's misstep makes Taylor a little more brave, as her hand dances at the bottom of Hayley's shirt, fingertips grazing her lower back. Hayley feels herself shiver, and she can't even blame it on the air around them. 

When they reluctantly pull apart for air, Taylor's eyes are tinged green and blown glassy, lips shiny. She strokes Hayley's cheek with her thumb, like she's something precious. “You’re so pretty.”

“No, that’s you,” Hayley says, and gives her another slow kiss. 

Her phone buzzes, a text from Jeremy saying he’s outside. She shoots him back a quick message and turns back to Taylor. “I told him we’d be out in five.” 

"Should have made it ten," Taylor laughs and leans in again.

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to add me on tumblr at [toallofourfavoriteparts](http://toallofourfavoriteparts.tumblr.com). thanks for reading.


End file.
